Midterm Exam Study Guide - I Real vs Official reasons a President Johnson's greatest weakness is inability for proper public opinion a President Johnson

I. Real vs. Official reasons a. President Johnson’s greatest weakness is inability for proper public opinion a. President Johnson disliked many members of Congress and let them publicly known. b. Johnson rushed ex-Confederates back into office and thus united the Republican Party against him c. President Johnson attempted to fire his Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, without Senate approval. Stanton had been working with the Radicals to undermine Johnson's reconstruction policies. Firing Stanton violated the Tenure of Office Act d. Congress wanted Johnson impeached because he refused to cooperate or compromise over black rights and the reconstruction of Southern state governments. But under the Constitution, Congress had to charge him with "high crimes or misdemeanors." Most of the charges related to his violating the Tenure of Office Act by firing Stanton. The constitutionality of this law was questionable and had never been tested in the courts. It was a weak reason to remove a president. e. The Senate failed by one vote to convict Johnson and remove him from the presidency. The doctrine of separation of powers prevailed. Congress had not taken over the government II. Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment a. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. By directly mentioning the role of the states, the 14th Amendment greatly expanded the protection of civil rights to all Americans and is cited in more litigation than any other amendment. b. Granted African American men the right to vote by declaring that the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Although ratified on February 3, 1870, the promise of the 15th Amendment would not be fully realized for almost a century. Through the use of poll taxes, literacy tests and other means, Southern states were able to effectively disenfranchise African Americans.